Deviancy and Youth (overview) Flashcards
Describe a criminal
- Working class/underclass
- Ethnic minority (overrepresented)
- Young male 17 (peak offending age)
How are most youth cultures deviant?
- Adapt dress codes/behaviours that go against the norms of society
- YP are often associated with criminal or anti-social behaviour
Define crime and example
Act that breaks the law
E.g. underage drinking
Define deviant and example
Act that breaks norm
e.g. smoking outside hospital
Why are young people more likely to be involved in criminal activities?
- Facing low wages, unemployment and urban decay Brake
- Peer pressure Adler and Adler
- Media, demonisation of young
- Labelled, Becker (SAT)
- Safety valve, Eistensdat
- Rebellion New wave girls, Balckman
- No kids, jobs or responsibility
Reasons why crimes are never reported to the police
- Little evidence
- ‘Snitchin’ is bad’
- Don’t trust police
- Criminal on criminal
- Relationship with perpetrator - domestic violence
- Embarrassed - sexual assault
Reasons why crimes are never recorded by police
- Cuts to police (time)
- More serious crime get attention
- Massage the statistics
- Bias policing
- Bribery
- Unreliable witness
- Withdraw offence
What is the ‘dark figure’ of crime?
Crimes that have not been reported or recorded by the police, may account for as much as 90% of all crimes
What is a self report study?
Asks a person how many crimes they have been involved in
Usually focuses on young people
In 2004, how many 10-15 year olds admitted they had been involved in anti-social behaviour?
A quater of 10-15 year olds, the most common form of anti-social behaviour was being nosy/rude in public places
What is the main problem with using a self-report study?
- Could lie
- Might forget
- Might not want to admit to crimes
- Focuses on young (certain types of crime ignored)
The media and young people
Often portrays young people in a negative light, which may have an impact on the general public’s view
Barnardo’s
- 2012 general public poll
Example of moral panics
- Chavs
- Hippies (Yung)
- Black muggers (Stuart Hall)
- Mods & Rockers (Cohen)
- Aids 1980
Official crime stats show
- 1/4 of crime is committed by 10-17 year olds
- Peak offending age B = 17 / G = 15
- Approximately 97% of youth offenders are male
Victims
- Younger people
- Teens are more vulnerable than adults to offences like sexual harassment, assault, theft and abuse at home
CAGE - Class
- Serious offending is more prevalent among sons of manual workers
- Unemployment / illness are factors to be associated with higher levels of offending
- More prevalent in lower income areas
CAGE - Gender
Why do girls start shoplifting at 15?
- Young males = 80% of offenders
- Might be able to get away with it
- Not a violent crime
CAGE - Ethnicity
- Over representation of young black people
Jock Young
- Hippies and drug use
- Strict policing of drugs led to secrative subcultures developing
- Resulting in trying ‘harder’ drugs such as heroin
Stuart Hall
- Major economic recession which led to the marginalisation of black youths —> increase in street robbery
- Distracted from capitalism not working
- Government put more police in areas with high crime rates
- Higher arrests (media reported)
- Public is focused on black criminality not deeper problems of capitalist system
